The Police Is A Problem
by Elenhin
Summary: As long as the police is not involved, there is no problem, when the police is involved Jack McKenna finds he has a problem. Follows on If There is no Police There is no Problem. One Shot


**Author's Note: **This is a one shot with the McKenna tv show. Brick was simply too much too resist for me. It is set before the show with Brick as a teenager, and thus Guy plays a part. I hope you will all enjoy it.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

**Disclaimer:** I do not own McKenna, I do not make any money on this and I have no hope of ever making enough money to own McKenna. No permanent harm will come to Brick, I will not leave him in any mess Dale can't haul him out of, but both he and his Mustang might require some tinkering once I'm done…

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><p><strong>The Police Is A Problem<strong>

Hanging up the phone Jack tried to decide if he had the energy to deal with it. It had been a long day, longer than any day rightly could be. It was the kind that seemed to be a whole week full of Mondays crammed into one day.

The tour he had taken out had been a disaster, it had rained and the lady of the family had been whining and complaining the whole time. She wanted a refund because no one had warned her there would be rain. Then one of the men had fallen of the horse and he did nothing but complain that he had been subjected to danger by having been given an untamed horse.

It had gone on like that with more misfortunes, one more annoying than the other. He had to take a saddle over to the saddle maker for repair. On the way there the old pick up wouldn't start and on the way back he had a flat tyre. It got to the point where he though that one more problem would drive him right out of his mind.

Obviously no-one had told Brick that, for that boy had obviously made a mess of it. Getting a call to pick him up at the principals office he could have lived with, that wasn't really an unusually bad day. It was just regular routine, he did it at least once most every week. It was usually nothing too bad and he'd just give the boy some nasty chore as punishment. There had been times he didn't really even know what he had done. There had been times when the principal was so busy she didn't really have time to inform him, and he'd just take his boy home and put him to mucking out the stable. Sometimes it just wasn't worth the bother finding out what he had done.

This though, with it being the Sheriff who called and having to pick him up at the Sheriff's office and not the school, that was something different all together. That made it a lot worse than usual, and of course the pickup didn't want to start at first so he had to fiddle with it before he could drive to town.

He parked in front of the Sheriff's office and entered, spotting the Sheriff at the back of the bullpen.

"Sam," he nodded towards him.

"Hi Jack," he nodded. "Sorry to have to call you in like this. I just didn't have much option." He gestured towards the chair in front of his desk and he sat down.

"Just tell me what's going on here Sam, what did that idiot of a son I've got get up to?" Jack wanted to know.

"From what I hear it started in school. Someone said something about jumping between the old cinema building and down to the roof of the bakery," Sam explained. "Apparently it didn't take long before they were daring each other to try it."

"And of course that would get Brick riled up," Jack sighed. "He's a real piece of work that one, thinking he could pull that off. I sure hope you got to him before he tried it. He might be an idiot but I don't want to see him breaking his fool neck." The cinema building was some ten feet or so away from the bakery, and a jump between the two were nearly impossible even if the bakery was also nearly ten feet lower. He knew one or two who had tried it when he was young, and it had never gone all that well.

"Sorry Jack, by the time someone called us about it and we got over there, they were already getting down from there and taking off. Rest of the crowd ran off like deer, only reason we got Brick was he had twisted his ankle a little as he landed. Boy's okay, just wasn't up to running out of there. The others were gone so quick I couldn't even see who they were."

"So Brick the only one you got, huh?" he sighed.

"And the Goodwin boy," he nodded. "Have to give them that, he's not one to take off and leave his buddy behind. Like the whole rest of that lot did."

"He ought to have gotten himself out of there, knowing them two it was Brick talked him into it, and that boy trying to talk him out of it."

"That's what Brick said too," Sam nodded. "I don't know how you manage not losing your mind Jack, that boy of yours is giving me grey hair. But at least he stands for what he's done. After we took them both back here Brick told us it was all him and that his friend hadn't done anything. Very insistent that we didn't have anything on him and that he did nothing wrong, only watched."

"They're good friends, don't know why Dale put up with him at times, but at least he don't let him take the blame for anything he did, but I still don't know what to make of him," he sighed again. "You got Dale here too?"

"No, Brick insisted that he hadn't done anything, just watched, and hadn't even been up on the roof though personally I have to admit I doubt that. We took him home with just a warning that the next time the rest of them get up to something like that he should tell us about it. Though I doubt he will."

"No, he'd be too worried about getting Brick into trouble," Jack agreed.

"Yeah, well we took him home, dropped him off and had a word with his mother. She'll have a talk with him. Tried to call you back then too," he admitted. "But you weren't in."

"No, I was out taking a tour, where did you put him?" he asked since he didn't spot him.

"Don't have the manpower to keep someone watching him right now," he mused. "Had to take him down to the cells. I thought you wouldn't mind, figured that it might also give him a lesson. I know he's only fourteen Jack, but the way he's heading he could get himself into more serious trouble. I thought giving him a bit of a warning might not be a bad idea."

"I only hope it works," Jack decided. "How'd he take it?"

"He was a bit mad about getting busted of course," he smiled. "Wasn't all that happy about being put in a cell, but he seemed to handle it pretty good. We've been checking up on him quite often to make sure there wasn't any trouble. Gave him a bit too eat too, I know how them teenagers are always hungry."

"Him more than others," Jack mused. "Think he understood what you were trying to tell him?"

"I think so," he nodded. "Just can't say if it'll be enough to keep him from jumping to the challenge next time someone throws out a double dare."

"I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you," he sighed. "You want to do anything else before I take him home?"

"No, he's good to go," Sam mused. "Don't know what you want to do with him, but I don't think you have to do a whole heck of a lot. He's putting on a brave face but sitting in a jail cell for a couple of hours is a pretty fair punishment for that stunt as far as I'm concerned."

"Yeah," he nodded. "You're probably right Sam, but the barn needs mucking out, I might just throw that in for good measure."

"Alright, well I'll go down and get him," Sam decided. "You wait here Jack, I'll be back in a minute." He left Jack and soon returned with Brick in tow, the boy did look a little less cocky than usual. Not that he was really surprised, the way the boy acted out and pulled crazy stunts half the town seemed to have forgotten how young he was, but he was still only fourteen years old. It had to be a bit nasty for him to have to wait in jail cell, and he knew Sam hadn't been out to scar the boy for life. The Sheriff's office was a little undermanned at times. Suddenly having to keep a teenager couldn't be easy.

"Hey son," he folded his arms across his chest. "Usually I pick you up at school, having to go to jail to do it is a bit more serious, don't you think?"

"I guess," he admitted, carefully, trying to judge Jack's mood before he said anything else.

Jack was watching him over carefully, he didn't seem to be hurt, aside from a barely noticeable limp that was. Having pulled a crazy stunt like that he was lucky it wasn't worse.

"Well, you can take him home now Jack," Sam decided. "Up to you what you want to do with him."

"I'll figure out something," Jack nodded to him. "Come on Brick." His son followed him out the door, and he motioned to him to get into the pickup truck. As he started and drove off neither one of them even said a word. They were halfway to the farm before he felt he was calm enough to try and talk to him. He had hoped that the boy would volunteer an explanation or an apology, but there was not a word from him.

"Just tell me one thing, what in hell made you think that was a good idea?" he wanted to know.

"I made it, didn't I?" Brick replied. "They're just overreacting."

"Overreacting?" he snorted. "Hardly, if you made it then you're luckier than you deserve to be. Even the biggest idiot ought to know better than to try that."

"Nice to know you think so highly of your son," he snorted. "Real nice Jack, calling me an idiot is sure going to help."

"Well what else should I call you?" he wanted to know. "Why don't you tell me this? Are you trying to get yourself killed? And the next time you do something like that, break your back, what are you going to do then? Think it'll be fun to live the rest of your life in a wheelchair? You're fourteen Brick, it's a little young to blow all your chances."

"That only happens if you're stupid," he turned his face away to look out the window and Jack pulled the pickup over, shutting off the engine.

"Sam was hoping you'd learn a lesson from this, but I'm not so sure," he shook his head. "Is anything we're saying to you getting through?"

"You think I'm an idiot," he mumbled through gritted teeth.

"No Brick, I think you've done a hell of an idiotic thing," he sighed. "Look here son, the way this day has been going, the only way to top it is to go back home and find out the place has burned down. It probably isn't the right time to talk about this."

"It was their idea, but as soon as it went wrong they all ran out on me," Brick admitted. "Guess I'm still rather pissed at them."

"Mind your language, would you?" he asked without even thinking. "You know son, people like that are always happy to help you into trouble, but they'll never be there to help you out of it. I just wish you wouldn't listen to them. I hear Dale stuck by you, he's the one you should listen to, not those jack asses."

"They challenged me," Brick defended himself. "They challenged me Jack, they said I didn't have the guts."

"It doesn't take guts to give into them, not compared to standing up to them," he tried. "And think about Dale, you could've gotten him into some serious trouble. What if Sam hadn't paid any attention to you when you said Dale didn't do anything, he could have been locked up with you. Do you really want him to get into that kind of trouble because of you?"

"I told him he didn't have to come," he shrugged. "Was his own choice."

"Because he thought someone had to be there in case it went wrong no doubt," he sighed. "What if you hadn't made it? What if you had wound up down on the concrete, how do you think he would've felt then?" He could see he was getting through to him, but Brick wasn't willing to admit that yet. "Well, it was because of you the Sheriff took him home, I think it's only fair you apologize to his parents."

"Fine," he sighed.

"And that you muck out the barn," he went on. Brick turned around and gave him a glare at that, but said nothing. Deciding that the conversation was over he made to start up the pickup again, of course it wouldn't start, and after a couple of tries he slammed a hand against the steering wheel.

"Looks like we'll be walking home," he sighing. "Darn thing's been acting up all day."

"I know what the problem is," Brick shrugged as he opened the door and got out before popping the hood open. Leaning in over the engine he did something that Jack couldn't see, then he smiled. "Try it now," he urged.

Jack did and to his surprise the engine started up.

"How'd you know what to do?" he asked curiously as Brick got back inside the cab.

"It was doing that all last week, lose wire," he grinned.

"Brick, you were never in this pickup without me all last week," Jack pointed out and he didn't miss the look of panic that crossed his face. So he had been at the pickup again. He'd take it for joyrides at times when Jack wasn't home, but he usually stayed off the roads.

"Aw hell," Brick groaned as he realized what he had just admitted to, dropping his head against the window.

"Mucking out the barn it is," Jack decided with a grin. He would let him get away with that part of it, this once. It was too much fun to see him realize that he had slipped up for him to be mad at him for it. Besides, using the old pickup for joy rides around the farm was something that Guy had done just as much as Brick did. That was something he used to do himself and nothing to get all that upset over. Brick did look properly chastised now that he had been found out, and he thought maybe the boy would keep out of trouble for at least a week or so. One could always hope…

_**The End**_

_Please review, the Cricket is hungry…. _


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